Cutter Pocket Inserts

ABSTRACT

A method for optimizing drill bit design and an optimized drill bit for drilling a well in an earth formation, wherein, in one embodiment, the optimized drill bit comprises a bit body with a plurality blades spaced along the bit body, each blade having a curved outer edge, a substantially flat forward face, and a number of insert pockets milled into each blade. A cutter insert is preferably secured into each insert pocket. The inserts are selected to give a desired cutter orientation, which is preferably independent of the orientation of the insert. Finally, a cutter is preferably secured at least partially within each cutter insert. The insert pockets may be formed by a cylindrical flat ended mill oriented substantially orthogonal to an outer edge of the blade, thereby creating the insert pockets with two substantially flat sidewalls, a curved endwall, and a substantially flat bottom.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The inventions disclosed and taught herein relate generally to drillbits for drilling wells; and more specifically relate to drill bits withsuper-abrasive cutting elements for drilling wells in earth formations.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,436 discloses a “method of forming a cutter assemblyfor a rotary drill bit comprises locating in a mould a preformpolycrystalline diamond cutting element of a non-thermally stable type,packing powdered matrix-forming material, such as powdered tungstencarbide, around at least part of the cutting element within the mould,and then infiltrating the powdered material with a metal alloy in afurnace to form a body of solid infiltrated matrix in which the cuttingelement is at least partly embedded. The metal alloy is selected toprovide an infiltration temperature, for example of up to about850.degree., which is not greater than the temperature at whichsignificant thermal degradation of the cutting element would occur.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,645 discloses a mounting apparatus “for locking aninsertable stud cutter or slug cutter or fluid nozzle into a socket on arotatable earth boring drill bit. The cutter may be readily removed andreplaced without damaging either the cutter, nozzle or bit. Apparatusare shown for permitting, or alternatively, preventing rotation of thecutter or nozzle in its socket. The mounting apparatus is particularlyapplicable to cutters having a cutting disk of polycrystalline diamondor other superabrasive material mounted on a carbide supporting body, orcarbide body nozzles or nozzles having a bore lined with such amaterial.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,980 discloses “[t]hin walled metal alloy receptacles[that] are filled with a filler material. If granular, the fillermaterial is solidified in the receptacles. The receptacles are insertedin a bit mold with their open ends abutting against preformed cutterlocations in the bit mold. The mold is filled with a steel or tungstencarbide powder and a binder and exposed to temperatures sufficient tocause the binder to infiltrate the steel or tungsten carbide as well asinfiltrate the receptacle outer surfaces, metallurgically bonding thereceptacles to the binder. The mold is then removed, revealing a bitbody with the bonded filled receptacles. The filler material is removedfrom the receptacles PCD cutters are inserted in the receptacles and arebrazed using conventional brazing techniques.”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,245 discloses a “[m]ounting apparatus is describedfor locking an insertable stud cutter or slug cutter or fluid nozzleinto a socket on a rotatable earth boring drill bit. The cutter may bereadily removed and replaced without damaging either the cutter, nozzleor bit. Apparatus are shown for permitting or, alternatively, preventingrotation of the cutter or nozzle in its socket. The mounting apparatusis particularly applicable to cutters having a cutting disk ofpolycrystalline diamond or other superabrasive material mounted on acarbide supporting body, or carbide body nozzles or nozzles having abore lined with such a material.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,250 discloses “[f]ormation engaging elements [that]are moveably mounted onto a drill bit. Such elements may be used toprotect other rigidly mounted formation engaging elements from impactsthat occur during use of the drill bit, or they may be used to alter theaggressiveness of the drill bit when used in directional drillingoperations.”

U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,011 discloses a “steel body rotary drag bit fordrilling a subterranean formation includes a plurality of supportelements affixed to the bit body, each forming at least a portion of acutting element pocket. Each of a plurality of cutting elements has asubstantially cylindrical body and is at least partially disposed withina cutter pocket. At least a portion of the substantially cylindricalbody of each cutting element is directly secured to at least a portionof a substantially arcuate surface of the bit body. At least a portionof a substantially planar surface of each cutting element matinglyengages at least a portion of a substantially planar surface of asupport element.”

U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,565 discloses a “steel body rotary drag bit fordrilling a subterranean formation includes a plurality of supportelements affixed to the bit body, each forming at least a portion of acutting element pocket. Each of a plurality of cutting elements has asubstantially cylindrical body and is at least partially disposed withina cutter pocket. At least a portion of the substantially cylindricalbody of each cutting element is directly secured to at least a portionof a substantially arcuate surface of the bit body. At least a portionof a substantially planar surface of each cutting element matinglyengages at least a portion of a substantially planar surface of asupport element.”

U.S. Patent Application No. 20070157763 discloses “an improved methodfor manufacturing a drill bit. The method includes applying a hardfacingmaterial to the drill bit, forming a cutter pocket within the drill bitwith plunge EDM, and inserting a cutting element into the cutterpocket.”

The inventions disclosed and taught herein are directed to an improveddrill bit.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a drill bit, such as for drilling a well intoan earth formation, comprising a bit body, having a number of blades anda number of insert pockets milled into each blade. A cutter insert ispreferably secured into each insert pocket. The inserts are selected togive a desired cutter orientation, which is preferably independent ofthe orientation of the insert. Finally, a cutter is preferably securedat least partially within each cutter insert. The insert pockets may beformed by a cylindrical flat ended mill oriented substantiallyorthogonal to an outer edge of the blade, thereby creating the insertpockets with two substantially flat sidewalls, a curved endwall, and asubstantially flat bottom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary drill bitincorporating cutting elements and embodying certain aspects of thepresent inventions;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an exemplary cutting elementembodying certain aspects of the present inventions;

FIG. 3 is a close-up partial elevation view of a blade of a drill bitaccording to certain aspects of the present inventions;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a blade of a drill bit accordingto certain aspects of the present inventions; and

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of a blade of a drill bit according tocertain aspects of the present inventions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Figures described above and the written description of specificstructures and functions below are not presented to limit the scope ofwhat Applicants have invented or the scope of the appended claims.Rather, the Figures and written description are provided to teach anyperson skilled in the art to make and use the inventions for whichpatent protection is sought. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat not all features of a commercial embodiment of the inventions aredescribed or shown for the sake of clarity and understanding. Persons ofskill in this art will also appreciate that the development of an actualcommercial embodiment incorporating aspects of the present inventionswill require numerous implementation-specific decisions to achieve thedeveloper's ultimate goal for the commercial embodiment. Suchimplementation-specific decisions may include, and likely are notlimited to, compliance with system-related, business-related,government-related and other constraints, which may vary by specificimplementation, location and from time to time. While a developer'sefforts might be complex and time-consuming in an absolute sense, suchefforts would be, nevertheless, a routine undertaking for those of skillthis art having benefit of this disclosure. It must be understood thatthe inventions disclosed and taught herein are susceptible to numerousand various modifications and alternative forms. Lastly, the use of asingular term, such as, but not limited to, “a,” is not intended aslimiting of the number of items. Also, the use of relational terms, suchas, but not limited to, “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “upper,”“lower,” “down,” “up,” “side,” and the like are used in the writtendescription for clarity in specific reference to the Figures and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention or the appended claims.

Particular embodiments of the invention may be described below withreference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods.In some alternate implementations, the functions/actions/structuresnoted in the figures may occur out of the order noted in the blockdiagrams and/or operational illustrations. For example, two operationsshown as occurring in succession, in fact, may be executed substantiallyconcurrently or the operations may be executed in the reverse order,depending upon the functionality/acts/structure involved.

Applicants have created a method for optimizing drill bit design and anoptimized drill bit for drilling a well in an earth formation. In oneembodiment, the optimized drill bit comprises a bit body; a pluralityblades spaced along the bit body, each blade having a curved outer edge,a substantially flat forward face, and a number of insert pockets milledinto each blade. A cutter insert is preferably secured into each insertpocket. The inserts are selected to give a desired cutter orientation,which is preferably independent of the orientation of the insert.Finally, a cutter is preferably secured at least partially within eachcutter insert. The insert pockets may be formed by a cylindrical flatended mill oriented substantially orthogonal to an outer edge of theblade, thereby creating the insert pockets with two substantially flatsidewalls, a curved endwall, and a substantially flat bottom.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a drill bit 10 that includes a bit body 12having a conventional pin end 14 to provide a threaded connection to aconventional jointed tubular drill string rotationally andlongitudinally driven by a drilling rig. Alternatively, the drill bit 10may be connected in a manner known within the art to a bottomholeassembly which, in turn, is connected to a tubular drill string or to anessentially continuous coil of tubing. Such bottomhole assemblies mayinclude a downhole motor to rotate the drill bit 10 in addition to, orin lieu of, being rotated by a rotary table or top drive located at thesurface or on an offshore platform (not shown within the drawings).Furthermore, the conventional pin end 14 may optionally be replaced withvarious alternative connection structures known within the art. Thus,the drill bit 10 may readily be adapted to a wide variety of mechanismsand structures used for drilling subterranean formations.

The drill bit 10, and select components thereof, are preferably similarto those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,048,081, which is incorporatedherein by specific reference. In any case, the drill bit 10 preferablyincludes a plurality of blades 16 each having a forward facing surface,or face 18. The drill bit 10 may have anywhere from three to eightblades 16. In a preferred embodiment, the drill bit 10 has three blades,which has been found to actually reduce wear, improve penetration, andincrease cutter life. For example, according to one example, an eightbladed bit experienced 60% more wear that a three bladed bit, underidentical circumstances. The drill bit 10 also preferably includes a rowof cutters, or cutting elements, 20 secured to the blades 16. The drillbit 10 also preferably includes a plurality of nozzles 22 to distributedrilling fluid to cool and lubricate the drill bit 10 and removecuttings. As customary in the art, gage 24 is the maximum diameter whichthe drill bit 10 is to have about its periphery. The gage 24 will thusdetermine the minimum diameter of the resulting bore hole that the drillbit 10 will produce when placed into service. The gage 24 of a smalldrill bit may be as small as a few centimeters and the gage 24 of anextremely large drill bit may approach a meter, or more. Between eachblade 16, the drill bit 10 preferably has fluid slots, or passages, 26into with the drilling fluid is fed by the nozzles 22.

An exemplary cutting element 20 of the present invention, as shown inFIG. 2, includes a super-abrasive cutting table 28 of circular,rectangular or other polygon, oval, truncated circular, triangular, orother suitable cross-section. The super-abrasive table 28, exhibiting acircular cross-section and an overall cylindrical configuration, orshape, is suitable for a wide variety of drill bits and drillingapplications. The super-abrasive table 28 of the cutting element 20 ispreferably formed with a conglomerated super-abrasive material, such asa polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC), with an exposed cutting face30. The cutting face 30 will typically have a top 30A and a side 30Bwith the peripheral junction thereof serving as the cutting region ofthe cutting face 30 and more precisely a cutting edge 30C of the cuttingface 30, which is usually the first portion of the cutting face 30 tocontact and thus initially “cut” the formation as the drill bit 10retaining the cutting element 20 progressively drills a bore hole. Thecutting edge 30C may be a relatively sharp approximately ninety-degreeedge, or may be beveled or rounded. The super-abrasive table 28 willalso typically have a primary underside, or attachment, interface facejoined during the sintering of the diamond, or super-abrasive, layerforming the super-abrasive table 28 to a supporting substrate 32typically formed of a hard and relatively tough material such as acemented tungsten carbide or other carbide. The substrate 32 may bepre-formed in a desired shape such that a volume of particulate diamondmaterial may be formed into a polycrystalline cutting, orsuper-abrasive, table 28 thereon and simultaneously strongly bonded tothe substrate 32 during high pressure high temperature (HPHT) sinteringtechniques practiced within the art. A unitary cutting element 20 willthus be provided that may then be secured to the drill bit 10 by brazingor other techniques known within the art.

In accordance with the present invention, the super-abrasive table 28preferably comprises a heterogeneous conglomerate type of PDC layer ordiamond matrix in which at least two different nominal sizes and wearcharacteristics of super-abrasive particles, such as diamonds ofdiffering grains, or sizes, are included to ultimately develop a rough,or rough cut, cutting face 30, particularly with respect to the cuttingface side 30B and most particularly with respect to the cutting edge30C. In one embodiment, larger diamonds may range upwards ofapproximately 600 μm, with a preferred range of approximately 100 μm toapproximately 600 μm, and smaller diamonds, or super-abrasive particles,may preferably range from about 15 μm to about 100 μm. In anotherembodiment, larger diamonds may range upwards of approximately 500 μm,with a preferred range of approximately 100 μm to approximately 250 μm,and smaller diamonds, or super-abrasive particles, may preferably rangefrom about 15 μm to about 40 μm.

The specific grit size of larger diamonds, the specific grit size ofsmaller diamonds, the thickness of the cutting face 30 of thesuper-abrasive table 28, the amount and type of sintering agent, as wellas the respective large and small diamond volume fractions, may beadjusted to optimize the cutter 20 for cutting particular formationsexhibiting particular hardness and particular abrasivenesscharacteristics. The relative, desirable particle size relationship oflarger diamonds and smaller diamonds may be characterized as a tradeoffbetween strength and cutter aggressiveness. On the one hand, thedesirability of the super-abrasive table 28 holding on to the largerparticles during drilling would dictate a relatively smaller differencein average particle size between the smaller and larger diamonds. On theother hand, the desirability of providing a rough cutting surface woulddictate a relatively larger difference in average particle size betweenthe smaller and larger diamonds. Furthermore, the immediately precedingfactors may be adjusted to optimize the cutter 20 for the averagerotational speed at which the cutting element 20 will engage theformation as well as for the magnitude of normal force and torque towhich each cutter 20 will be subjected while in service as a result ofthe rotational speeds and the amount of weight, or longitudinal force,likely to be placed on the drill bit 10 during drilling.

Referring also to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, each blade 16 preferablyincludes a curved outer edge 34 substantially perpendicular to the face18 of each blade 16. In a preferred embodiment, one or more insertpockets 36 are milled into each blade 16. More specifically, in someembodiments, a number of insert pockets 36 are milled into the outeredge 34 of each blade. A cutter insert 38 is preferably secured withineach insert pocket 36. Each cutter insert 38 preferably includes anintegral cutter pocket 40, into which one of the cutters 20 is secured.The cutter inserts 38 are preferably brazed and/or welded into theinsert pockets 36. The cutters 20 are preferably brazed into the cutterpockets 40. However, the cutter inserts 38 and cutters 20 may beattached or secured using other techniques, such as those known in theindustry.

In some embodiments, the insert pockets 36 are standardized, such thatthe same insert pockets 36 are milled into relatively large numbers ofbit bodies 12. The cutters 20 may also be standardized, such thatrelatively large quantities of cutters 20 may be manufactured and/orordered without regard to the finally optimized drill bit 10.Standardizing the bit bodies 12 and cutters 20, simplifies manufacturingand procurement, thereby increasing production efficiency.

One will appreciate, however, that all drill bits 10 are not createdequal. Often, a drill bit 10 needs to be designed, manufactured, and/orselected for a specific application. In addition to choices betweenmaterials used throughout the drill bit 10, the size, shape, number, andorientation of the cutters 20 is often critical to drill bitoptimization for a given application.

It can be appreciated that the term orientation, as in cutterorientation, refers to back rake, side rake, exposure, angle around,and/or the three dimensional position, attitude, and/or alignment of thecutters 20 with respect to the blade 16. Back rake, generally, refers toa vertical angle of the cutter 20. The face 18 of the blade 16,especially where the face 18 is substantially vertical, may provide areference for a back rake angle. Side rake, generally, refers to ahorizontal angle of the cutter 20. The face 18 of the blade 16,especially where the face 18 is substantially planar, may provide areference for a side rake angle. Cutter exposure, generally, refers tohow far the cutters 20 extend beyond the blade 16 into the earthformation being drilled. One can appreciate that a cutter 20 must extendbeyond the blade 16 and that different angles may be useful in differentapplications. While the cutters 20 preferably extend both forwardly andoutwardly of the blades 16, the inserts 38 may or may not extend beyondthe blades 16.

Thus, according to the teachings of the present invention, the drillbits 10 are optimized by selecting appropriate cutter inserts 38 for theapplication. More specifically, an optimized drill bit 10 may beproduced using a bit body 12 having standardized insert pockets 36 byselecting appropriate cutter inserts 38 that will accommodate thedesired cutter size, shape, number, and/or orientation, such as backrake, side rake, and/or exposure. More specifically, for a givenapplication, a drill bit designer may select a bit body 12 constructedof the desired materials. The bit body 12 may be of a standardized size,shape, blade count, and/or other configurable characteristics. The bitbody 12 may have standardized insert pockets 36 pre-milled into theblades. Alternatively, the bit designer may specify a number and/orpattern for the insert pockets 36, which the designer or a technicianthen mills into the bit body 12.

Then, the designer decides the size, shape, number, and orientation ofthe cutters 20. Each cutter 20 may have a unique size, shape, and/ororientation. Alternatively, some or even all of the cutters 20 may sharethe same size, shape, and/or orientation. In either case, for eachcutter 20, the designer then selects the appropriate cutter inserts 38according to the desired cutters' 20 size, shape, and/or orientation.The selected inserts 38 are then brazed and/or welded into the insertpockets 36 of the bit body 12. For example, the inserts 38 may be brazedand then tack welded into place. Finally, the selected cutters 20 arethen brazed into the cutter pockets 40 of the inserts 38. Of course, asdiscussed above, the cutter inserts 38 and cutters 20 may be attached orsecured using other techniques, such as those known in the industry.

In some embodiments, the insert pockets 36 are milled into the outeredge 34 of the blades 16 using a cylindrical flat-ended mill. Theresulting insert pockets 36 may therefore have two substantially flat,or planar, parallel sidewalls 42 and an arcuate, or curved, end wall 44.In some embodiments, the milling is performed with the millsubstantially orthogonal to the outer edge 34, thereby providing theinsert pockets 36 with a substantially flat bottom 46, which may besubstantially perpendicular to the sidewalls and substantiallyperpendicular to the face 18 of the blade 16.

It can be seen that, in a preferred embodiment, each insert pocket 36,and corresponding insert 38, has a size, shape, and/or orientation thatis independent of the cutter 20 size, shape, and/or orientation. Thedrill bit 10 is optimized by selecting the appropriate cutter insert 38to provide, or accommodate, the desired cutters' 20 size, shape, and/ororientation. Thus, in order to create a variety of drill bits 10, thedesigner may use a standardized bit body 12 and standardized cutters 20,only needing a plurality of inserts 38 to potentially provide a numberof different cutter orientations.

The blades 16 of the bit body 12 are preferably made from steel, but maybe made from an alloy matrix, a matrix of carbide powder impregnatedwith a copper alloy binder during a casting process, a carbide matrixformed from a sintering process. However, the blades 16 and/or the bitbody 12 may be constructed of virtually any metal, alloy, or casting,depending on the expected application and/or properties desired. Forexample, the drill bit 10 may be constructed as a steel body drill bitusing a casting process whereby the steel is heated past its meltingtemperature and allowed to flow, under the influence of gravity, into agraphite mold. Alternatively, the drill bit 10 may be constructed as amatrix style drill bit using an infiltration casting process whereby thecopper alloy binder is heated past its melting temperature and allowedto flow, under the influence of gravity, into a matrix of carbide powderpacked into, and shaped by, the graphite mold. In any case, the mold ispreferably a graphite negative of the shape of the drill bit 10. Themold preferably contains the shapes of the blades 16 and slots 26 of thedrill bit 10, creating a form for the drill bit 10. Other features maybe made from clay and/or sand and attached to the mold.

A mold assembly may also include one or more displacement elements. Forexample, the mold assembly may include a plurality of nozzledisplacements to accommodate the eventual installation of the nozzles22. The displacements may be made of glued sand, a clay material, and/orgraphite. For example, they may consist of a graphite outer layer filledwith sand.

The mold assembly may also include a plurality of cutter insertdisplacements. The cutter insert displacements are small graphite piecesthat retain the physical positions of cutter inserts 38 in the matrixand resulting bit. Once the bit has been successfully molded, the insertpockets 36 formed by the displacements may be further machined toprovide locations into which the inserts 38 are braised, welded, and/orotherwise secured.

Other and further embodiments utilizing one or more aspects of theinventions described above can be devised without departing from thespirit of Applicant's invention. Further, the various methods andembodiments of the drill bit 10 can be included in combination with eachother to produce variations of the disclosed methods and embodiments.Discussion of singular elements can include plural elements andvice-versa. For example, one cutter insert 38 may accommodate more thanone cutter 20.

The order of steps can occur in a variety of sequences unless otherwisespecifically limited. The various steps described herein can be combinedwith other steps, interlineated with the stated steps, and/or split intomultiple steps. Similarly, elements have been described functionally andcan be embodied as separate components or can be combined intocomponents having multiple functions.

The inventions have been described in the context of preferred and otherembodiments and not every embodiment of the invention has beendescribed. Obvious modifications and alterations to the describedembodiments are available to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thedisclosed and undisclosed embodiments are not intended to limit orrestrict the scope or applicability of the invention conceived of by theApplicants, but rather, in conformity with the patent laws, Applicantsintend to fully protect all such modifications and improvements thatcome within the scope or range of equivalent of the following claims.

1. A method of optimizing a drill bit, such as for drilling a well intoan earth formation, the method comprising the steps of: producing a bitbody having a number of blades, each blade having at least one insertpocket formed therein; selecting a cutter insert having a cutter pocketto give a desired orientation to a cutter; securing the insert at leastpartially within the insert pocket; and securing the cutter at leastpartially within the cutter pocket of the insert.
 2. The method at setforth in claim 1, wherein the insert pocket comprises two sidewallssubstantially parallel to each other and a substantially flat bottomsubstantially perpendicular to the sidewalls.
 3. The method at set forthin claim 1, wherein the insert pocket comprises a flat bottomsubstantially perpendicular to a face of the blade.
 4. The method at setforth in claim 1, wherein the insert is selected from a plurality ofinserts, each insert potentially providing a different orientation tothe cutter.
 5. The method at set forth in claim 1, wherein anorientation of the insert is independent of the orientation of thecutter, such that the orientation of the cutter pocket within the insertprovides the orientation of the cutter.
 6. The method at set forth inclaim 1, wherein the insert is welded to the bit body.
 7. The method atset forth in claim 1, wherein the cutter is brazed to the insert.
 8. Themethod at set forth in claim 1, wherein the orientation comprises a backrake.
 9. The method at set forth in claim 1, wherein the orientationcomprises a side rake.
 10. The method at set forth in claim 1, whereinthe orientation comprises a cutter exposure.
 11. A method of optimizinga drill bit, such as for drilling a well into an earth formation, themethod comprising the steps of: producing a bit body having a number ofblades; milling a number of insert pockets into each blade using acylindrical flat ended mill, each insert pocket having an insertorientation; selecting, for each insert pocket, a cutter insert to givea desired cutter orientation, the cutter orientation being independentof the insert orientation; securing, for each insert pocket, theselected insert within the insert pocket; and securing a cutter at leastpartially within each cutter insert.
 12. The method at set forth inclaim 11, wherein the insert pocket comprises two sidewallssubstantially parallel to each other and a flat bottom substantiallyperpendicular to the sidewalls and substantially perpendicular to a faceof the blade.
 13. The method at set forth in claim 11, wherein eachinsert is selected from a plurality of inserts, each insert potentiallyproviding a different cutter orientation.
 14. The method at set forth inclaim 13, wherein the different cutter orientations potentially providedby the plurality of inserts comprise different back rakes, side rakesand exposures.
 15. The method at set forth in claim 11, wherein thecutter orientation comprises a back rake.
 16. The method at set forth inclaim 11, wherein the cutter orientation comprises a side rake.
 17. Themethod at set forth in claim 11, wherein the cutter orientationcomprises a cutter exposure.
 18. The method at set forth in claim 11,wherein, during the milling step, the mill is oriented substantiallyorthogonal to an outer edge of the blade.
 19. An optimized drill bit,such as for drilling a well into an earth formation, the drill bitcomprising: a bit body having a number of blades; a number of insertpockets milled into each blade, each insert pocket having an insertorientation; a cutter insert welded into each insert pocket, the insertselected to give a desired cutter orientation, the cutter orientationbeing independent of the insert orientation; and a cutter brazed atleast partially within each cutter insert.
 20. The drill bit as setforth in claim 19, wherein the insert pockets are formed by acylindrical flat ended mill oriented substantially orthogonal to anouter edge of the blade, such that the insert pocket comprises twosidewalls substantially parallel to each other and a flat bottomsubstantially perpendicular to the sidewalls and substantiallyperpendicular to a face of the blade.